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Clement Attlee, economy, Labour, politics, Thatcher, unemployment
Clement Richard Attlee was Deputy British Prime Minister during the war years and British Prime Minister from 1945 to 1951.
During that time he created the NHS, welfare services for deprived children, support and financial help for the elderly and the disabled, he introduced the right to a free secondary education, sickness and child benefit, he raised pensions to a liveable level, built large numbers of affordable housing for low-income families and built numerous new towns for working people.
Clement Attlee also oversaw improvements in survival rates for infants and increased life expectancy for the elderly, introduced equality in law for married women, eradicated the abject destitution which existed in the 1930s across large parts of the country and reduced the acute social deprivation which previously existed in the poorest rural and urban areas.
Prime Minister Attlee introduced specific legislation to improve the working conditions of seafarers, police officers, fire fighters, shop workers, dock workers, miners (including a ban on boys under 16 being allowed to go underground), health workers, carers, farmers and agricultural workers.
Under Attlee’s stewardship, unemployment rarely rose above 3%, living standards increased by about 10% each year, the economy grew by 3% a year, and by the end of his tenure the United Kingdom had the best economic performance in Europe, with output per person increasing faster than even in the booming United States.
Clement Richard Attlee was undeniably the greatest British Prime Minister of all time.
May he rest in peace.
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Pride's Purge 
Pingback: In memory of Clement Attlee RIP – the greatest British Prime Minister of all time | Deaep
Couldn’t agree more, Tom.
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typical communist propaganda from ‘the left’ 🙂
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Amen to that. And we’re wasting millions on a destroyer of his legacy, on a single, symbolic day?
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they are going through the list of things not yet privatised they can give away to their mates
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I’m no communist and, despite Dave and his Munchkins, I’m no Thatcherite either. One of my happiest days was when she was removed from Downton (deliberate) St. At least my higher education was already secured – not by her – before her time. Now can the country rest in peace, for just a while? She represented AA (arrogance and avarice), her own and no-one else.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html
‘We are ALL Thatcherites now’: Cameron says Iron Lady’s legacy lives on as he dismisses Diane Abbott’s ‘extraordinary’ attack over funeral costs
speak for yourself cameron you stupid prick..
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Have to agree.Also it must be said all these things were done at a time when the Countries finances were far worse than now and against great opposition from the Establishment and a mention to to his Cabinet colleagues who despite personal rivalries ,or perhaps because of them had the vision and expertiise to engender the changes.
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@mike i wuz kiddin’ tom knows that..no doubt bollocks like that will show up on here..
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Bobby Charlton was the greatest PM we never had. With that ‘comb-over’ he could have won the falklands with a look in the mirror!!!
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Reblogged this on kickingthecat.
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Borrowed heavily from the Americans finally paid off about 10 years ago. No Churchill was the greatest leader.
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As a small boy growing up during the Atlee years I have much to be grateful for. Without the newly formed NHS I would not have survived into adulthood. (I am now in my 73rd year).
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churchill ? you mean greatest wartime leader surely, he was crap during peace..the public rejected him post war..
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Attlee was a successful prime minister but there are a number of factual errors in Toms article. It was the conservative Butlers 1944 education act which introduced free education for all including secondary. Living standards didn’t rise by 10% a year, a quick look at average earnings and RPI will confirm this. There are probably other errors as well which overall shows its not a good idea to rely on political satirists for reliable information.
Attlee had a good record as PM, with the NHS Founding being the highlight so there was no need to exaggerate his achievements.
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Attlee probably did more for this country than any other leader since Lloyd George. Winston Churchill deserved his place in history as a war leader, but in peace time his actions were questionable. As for Thatcher….. check my blog at http://www.sanityshepherd.com for my thoughts!
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Reblogged this on PenPaperAction!.
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Prime Minister
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churchill couldnt have been greatest PM he was rejected post war..
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Absolutely…may he rest in peace and may the Thatcherites feel shame & condemnation for their attempt to canonise the Thatcher woman. I am wearing red today.
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butler was hated…with him it was a political gesture….with atlee..he meant it….it was all about preserving DIGNITY….
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xraypat
You have to be red or dead to survive this condem government, Thatchers legacy.
Good and factual article Tom.
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Ok then, but greatest Prime Minister not rejected by the people would definitely be Margaret Thatcher who had the balls and intelligence outwit and break the unions.
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Indeed whereas Atlee’s post-war government, despite the ravages of war created the welfare state Thatcher initiated the policy of beginning it’s destruction which is now being pursued by Cameron et al.
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what an extraordinary thing for cameron to say….he thinks if he says it enough he will begin to believe it….even if no one else does….
atlee on the other hand, had the strength courage of his own convictions….and most saw atlee as a very moral human being….i wonder what he would say about the crazy world of boring tories….R.I.P. clem….
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Phil
Cameron like Thatcher thinks cruelty equates with greatness. How deluded?
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It’s worth noting that the corporate media and the power elite have made damn sure that Atlee’s legacy is not discussed. This is no accident.
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thatcher took a boat to an island…when she got there she decided to reform it…then she in tantrum fury….decided to axe it….
then she realized what she had done, and screamed to be rescued…..she was a destroyer…and failed to put any thing back in it’s place…
she was no reformer…but a destroyer….a tyrant..
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@charlesfrith practically everything is propaganda these days take that crap about 50,000 millwall fans who were going to beat up anti maggie protesters..didnt happen did it? so, why? well it must have put quite a few ppl going there eh? i was watching live broadcast from there and all the chat room ppl spoke about was ”wheres the millwall fans” ..tell you something?
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@chrissy wissy and you think the country is better off as result? she sold off the family silver so we had to buy it back at several times the price, talked ppl into buying council homes, which took millions of them off the lists and dumped ppl into negative equity,, then she dumped 4 million on the dole and used north sea oil money to pay for it, then sent men to their deaths over antarctic mining rights, just to get herself re elected, then she supported mass murderer pinoche, and let a serial sex offender abuse children. then supported murdochs corruption, and supported her brat mark on trying to start a war, then was intent on flogging off the NHS and it took a minister to stop her insanity…. yeah thats some legacy…ding dong shes dead good riddance..
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xray…to feel shame one first needs to be human…and as for canonization, mons meg comes to mind…
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I agree with this assessment of an understated statesman and visionary. And he did all this against the backdrop of a country reeling from the most terrible war in its history.
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Pingback: In memory of Clement Attlee RIP – the greatest British Prime Minister of all time | martinlakewriting
The best PM is surely the one that has done the greatest good for the most people, and it wasn’t Thatcher. I was too young to remember Atlee but not too young to benefit from the NHS or any other social changes.
Thatchers funeral is just one big party political broadcast for the tory party.
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SICK BAG WARNING.!!!! Propaganda bollocks from ‘our friends’ across the pond..the heritage foundation..the organisation that demented loon helen evans rubbished the NHS for..now we find that mdm scratcher was about to flog off the NHS..
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I am too young to have lived under Clement Attlee, but his funeral was a very modest affair with 150 family guests followed by a cremation. Winston Churchill had a state funeral in 1965 and as the cortege of small ships passed along the River Thames, dockers dipped their cranes as a mark of respect.
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Ah, seem to remember being cold a lot of the time, hungry nearly all the time and having only a couple of cotton shirts or pairs of socks. The trains rarely ran on time and were expensive to travel on. Cars were difficult to buy and if you did hugely expensive to run. For the ordinary worker and I did do some manual work sixty plus hours a week were common. We had no TV and could not afford gramophone records and because of electrical costs radio use was limited. It was not until 1958 (see the White Paper of that year) that the real push for free decent secondary education was made. In the towns air quality was terrible. Also one reason why the unemployment rate was low was the number of people in the Armed Forces, including all those in forced labour conscription. One reason for the increased expectation of life was that booze was so expensive and highly taxed. But we did get to the pictures once a week, usually after queuing for hours.
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don’t forget the smog,
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He certainly did a lot of good but as for a Destroyer of his legacy? I don’t think there was much left to destroy by the time maggie came to power. She has a place in history whatever your view of her is and those who wish to show respect should be allowed to do so along with her family without people being disruptive with disgracefully loutish behaviour.
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@JR LACEY quite right we dont want loutish behaviour like dave and boris bullingdon boys club pissing on homeless or young conservatives getting drunk and abusing disabled ppl..i mean what kind of soceity is that?
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Lovely stuff. He was a great man, as was Bevan.
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I THINK ppl cheered when saddam met his end..did we hear cries of outrage then?
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@tom i see little georgie was in teers over thatcher loss at funeral..pity we didnt feel so sad when he parked in disabled bay or sentenced millions to misery with his bean counting austerity package
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/margaret-thatcher-funeral–george-osborne-in-tears-during-st-paul-s-service-114006881.html
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Reblogged this on Ned Hamson Second Line View of the News and commented:
Spot on, as they say!
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Pingback: Thatcher’s legacy | Rantings From a Virtual Soapbox
Pingback: Thatcher’s Legacy | Rantings From a Virtual Soapbox
Attlee is turning in his grave at the modern day Labour Party.
Its not socialist its a Liberal Tory mish mash with oppressive marxist political correctness thrown in for good measure- a recipe for disaster.
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The country is in a mess Its all this rock music thats doing it Its evil and satanic just like that atheistic socialism stuff..Only christian capitalism can save us…
http://www.cai.org/bible-studies/satans-cult-rock-music
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